Card connector with an ejection mechanism and a flexible printed circuit harness therefor

ABSTRACT

A memory card connector with an ejection mechanism 10 comprises an operating rod 15 sliding lengthwise along a side surface of a frame 11 and a cam bar 16 linked to the operating rod 15 intended for the ejection of the card. A spring 17 is attached to an overhang at an inner end of the operating rod 15 and to a mounting member 19 on the frame 11. Because of such an arrangement, the operating rod 15 is forced forward; and at the same time, due to the fact that the mounting member 19 is closer to the center of the connector than an overhang 34 of the operating rod 15, the operating rod is forced to the side surface of the frame 11.

This application is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 08/434,258filed May 3, 1995, now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to card connectors, especially to connectors formemory cards having mechanisms for the ejection of cards inserted insuch connectors and a flexible printed circuit harness therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years, the necessity of interfaces used for the connection ofhigh-performance computers to external devices has greatly increased.Memory cards are an example of such devices. Memory cards containexternal memory and the data to be processed by the computer, and duringtheir use, they are connected to the inside circuitry by means ofelectrical connectors.

An example of a conventional card connector is depicted in JapaneseUtility Model Publication No. 92-8241. This card connector comprises aframe retaining the card and a connector section which is electricallyconnected to the card retained in the frame. The connector sectionconnects the card with the circuits on the circuit board, with the framebeing fixed to the circuit board and at the same time implementing aconnection to ground. If necessary, this card connector can be equippedwith an ejection mechanism. The ejection mechanism has an operating rodsliding in the direction opposite to that of the card insertion and acam bar operationally joined to the operating rod. Pressure applied tothe operating rod is transmitted to the cam bar which moves, thisproviding pressure to the card and ejecting it.

However, the ejection mechanism of the card connector described abovehas a disadvantage to the effect that when no card is inserted in theconnector, the operating rod, especially in the units not attached tocircuit boards, can freely move within its moving range. This results ina rattling sound in personal computers of the notebook type when theyare carried around. In addition, when the button of the operating rod ismade flat with the surface of the computer case, it is necessary toprovide a depression for the operation of the button when the card isejected. However, such a depression is not desirable, because foreignobjects may get in it.

In order to solve these problems, ejection mechanisms described inJapanese UM Publication No. 89-132074 and Japanese UM Publication No.90-41278 were proposed in which a spring was provided to force theoperating rod forward and its button to the surface of the case.However, it was necessary to provide in such ejection mechanisms guidinggrooves for the operating rod which resulted in an increased width ofthe mechanisms which was not desirable from the standpoint ofcompactness.

Therefore, the purpose of this invention is to offer a card connectorequipped with a small-sized ejection mechanism having a spring-loadedoperating rod.

In many cases, electronic and electric devices have to be electricallyconnected to devices mounted on printed circuit boards through circuitsformed thereon, as well as to devices mounted on other circuit boards,and the circuit boards have to be electrically connected to each other.

For example, a circuit board with circuits formed on both sides isinserted in a connector of an assembly of circuit board connectors, andconnector contacts are to be connected to the conductive pads formed onthe circuit board by soldering. In addition, connectors have to bemounted on both sides of the circuit board and connected to the externalcircuits in order to make it possible to make connections with circuitboards or other devices.

However, the soldering of contacts of such a connector assembly to bothsides of a circuit board is a difficult process.

In addition, since the above-mentioned connectors are secured to bothsides of the circuit board, there is no flexibility in the positioningof the devices or circuit boards to be connected by means of theseconnectors, thus making it impossible to compensate for minor shifts intheir position or to change their position.

The wiring to a number of external devices or circuit boards from theabove-mentioned assembly of the circuit board connectors is relativelysimple, but the process of assembly of many connectors involving anumber of complicated and cost-intensive operations needssimplification.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to a card connector equipped with an ejectionmechanism, the ejection mechanism comprises a spring which forces a cardcontained in a frame forward, an operating rod which can slidelengthwise along a side surface of the frame and a cam bar which ismounted on the frame and can swivel by the action of the operating rodthus ejecting the card. The operating rod has an overhang spaced fromthe side surface of the frame, and that one end of the spring isattached to the overhang and the other end of the spring is attached tothe frame at a location close to the first end and slightly forward.

A memory card connector comprising a frame in which a memory card is tobe received, an ejection mechanism mounted on the frame for ejecting thememory card therefrom, the ejection mechanism includes an operating rodmovably mounted on the frame and operatively connected to a cam barpivotally mounted on the frame for engagement with the memory cardthereby ejecting the memory card from the frame upon linear movement ofthe operating rod, and a spring connected between the operating rod andthe frame for maintaining the operating rod in a non-ejecting positionand against the frame.

The card connector with an ejection mechanism according to thisinvention has an ejection mechanism including a sliding operating rodattached to a frame and a cam bar mounted on the frame and operativelyconnected to the operating rod which ejects the card when the operatingrod is pushed. The operating rod has a middle section which extendsalong a side surface of the frame and an overhang at the back whichextends outside the frame when the operating rod is attached to theframe.

A spring is provided to force the operating rod forward. One end of thespring is attached to an overhang of the operating rod, and the otherend is secured to a mounting member on the frame. Since the overhang isoffset from the frame to the outside more than the mounting member, thespring action forces the operating rod also towards the side surface ofthe frame.

This invention is also directed to a connector assembly containingcontacts arranged in two rows having soldering contact sections orientedin mutually opposed directions and of a flexible printed circuit (FPC)having soldering pads on one surface, and by the fact that the flexibleprinted circuit is folded, thereby forming a two-layer structure, andthe soldering pads are soldered to the contact sections.

This invention provides for an FPC harness intended for the mutualconnection of various devices and circuit boards by means of an FPC. Onone side of the FPC, pads are located for the attachment of connectorsby soldering. When the connectors are mounted on the FPC, the contactsare soldered to the pads.

In this invention, the FPC is bent to form a wiring structure having atleast two layers. Each of the two-layers are independently flexible. Thecontacts of at least one pair of the connectors mounted on the FPC aresoldered so that the connectors are located back-to-back.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of examplewith reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view and FIG. 2 is a side view of the preferredembodiment of a card connector with ejection mechanism according to thisinvention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the card connector shown in FIG. 1 when thecard is ejected.

FIG. 4 is a plan view, FIG. 5 is a side view and FIG. 6 is an enlargedview of an operating rod used in the card connector shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a cam bar used in the card connector shown inFIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a part plan view of a mounting member located on a sidesurface of a frame, and FIG. 9 is a part cross-sectional view takenalong the line 9--9 in FIG. 8.

FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 are respective plan, side and front views of anassembly of connectors shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 13 is a part plan view of another example of the mounting membershown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 14--14 of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the preferred embodiment of a circuitconnector assembly according to this invention. Wiring in the form ofconductive paths on the FPC is omitted.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the flexible printed circuit (FPC) used in thecircuit connector assembly shown in FIG. 15.

FIGS. 17 and 18 are respective side and cross sectional views showingmutual positions of card connectors and the FPC.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Below, a detailed explanation concerning preferred embodiments of thisinvention with reference to the drawings is given. FIG. 1 represents thefirst embodiment of a card connector 10 with an ejection mechanism. Thecard connector 10 has a frame 11 holding a memory card 100 and aconnector 12. The connector 12 is located at the back of the frame 11.The frame 11 is formed from a sheet metal material, and it has, at itsside surfaces, mounting lugs 13 for the mounting of the frame to acircuit board and a grounding contact 14 used for the grounding of thememory card. In addition, at the side surface of the frame 11, anoperating rod 15 is provided for the ejection of the card which canslide along the side surface. The inner end of the operating rod 15 isattached to a cam bar 16. A similar structure is disclosed in JapaneseUM Publication No. 92-82141.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, a spring 17 is attached to the operating rod15 used for the ejection. The spring 17 has a spiral section 21 andstraight sections 22 and 23 at both ends of the spiral section 21. Thestraight sections 22 and 23 extend lengthwise from diametrically opposedlocations of the spiral section 21. As can be seen in FIG. 1-3, in theoperating rod 15, a mounting groove 18 is located for the attachment ofone end of the straight section 22 of spring 17. The operating rod 15,as shown in FIG. 4, has a front end 32 to which a button 31 is fixed, acentral section 33 which is pressed against and can slide along a sidesurface of the frame 11, and an inner end 34 having an opening 35 forthe connection to a cam bar.

The other end of the spring 17 is attached to the frame 11. As can beseen from FIGS. 8 and 9. The mounting member 19 extends outside and uplike a crank. In the vicinity of the front end of the mounting member19, a hook 51 is provided for the attachment of one end of the straightsection 23 of the spring 17. As shown in FIG. 1, this end of the spring17 is located closer to the frame 11 compared to the end attached tooperating rod 15.

Next, the operation of the card ejection process of the card connector10 will be explained. In FIG. 1, the memory card 100 is shown by thebroken line. When the memory card 100 is inserted, the operating rod 15and the cam bar 16 are in the position shown in FIG. 1. The ejection ofthe memory card 100 is carried out by pressing the button 31. At thattime, the operating rod 15 is moved back and the cam bar 16 turns. Withthis, an ejecting surface 41 shown in FIG. 7 of the cam bar 16 exertspressure on the edge of the memory card 100 and ejects it.

When the memory card 100 is ejected, the operating rod 15 and the cambar 16 assume the positions shown in FIG. 3. As can be seen from thedrawing, the spring 17 is stretched lengthwise. Therefore, the button 31slides forward when the pressure is not applied to it any more. Afterthe memory card 100 is ejected, the operating rod 15 and the cam bar 16assumes the position shown in FIG. 1.

As it was explained above, one end of the spring 17 is attached to theinner end 34 of the overhang of the operating rod 15 and the other endis attached to the mounting member 19 of the frame which is locatedcloser to frame 11 relative to the inner end 34. Therefore, theoperating rod 15 is forced in the direction indicated the FIG. 1 by theslanted arrow A. Due to this arrangement, the central position 33 of theoperating rod 15 is pressed against the side surface of the frame 11with an adequate force. Therefore, the operating rod is at all timespressed against the side surface of the frame, thus eliminating arattling sound.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the inner end of the operating rod 15 has aT-shaped opening 35. In the status shown in FIG. 1, the engagement end42 of the cam bar 16 is passed through the opening 35. The operating rod15 is a metal member 36 and the button 31 is fixed to the metal member36. If the operating rod is attached to the opposite side of the cardconnector 10, the same metal member 36 can be used because the opening35 has a wider portion 37. In such a case, the end 42 can be alsoinserted in the opening 35. The opening 35 has also a narrower portion38 extending backward from the wider portion 37. The purpose of thisnarrower portion 38 is that the operating rod can be moved to thevertical position, thus making it possible to operationally connect thecam bar 16 and the operating rod 15.

As was mentioned above, the engagement of the operating rod 15 and thecam bar 16 is accomplished by inserting the engagement end 42 into thewider portion 37 of the opening 35. Therefore, mechanical stress in theengagement end 42 during movement of the operating rod 15 is relativelysmall. This makes it possible to achieve a smooth ejection without anexcessive stress in the cam bar 16, thus avoiding excessive wearthereof.

FIG. 10 represents an assembly 60 or two card connectors 10 and 10'shown in FIG. 1. In the connector assembly 60, the card assemblies 1010' are placed back-to-back. The method (or similar methods) ofconnection of the card connectors 10 and 10', as well as their mountingon the printed circuit boards (not shown n the drawing) are described inJapanese UM Publication No. 92-92948.

The assembly of the connectors similar to the assembly 60 shown in FIG.10 corresponds to three types (Types I, II, and III) defined in theStandards set by PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card InternationalAssociation). Memory cards of Type I or Type II are insertedindividually in separate card connectors 10, 10', and can beindividually ejected by their respective ejection mechanisms 65, 65'. Ifsuch an assembly is used for Type III cards, one of the ejectionmechanisms 65, 65' (see FIG. 10) is removed and can be replaced with adifferent device, for example, by a device preventing wrong sideinsertion of a card placed near the grounding contacts 14, 14'.

FIGS. 13 and 14 depict a mounting member 19' having a hook 51' which isa modified version of the mounting member 19 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Thehook 51' is roughly of a C-shaped configuration and has protrusion 71extending inside. Its purpose is to prevent the spring 17 from slippingoff.

Above, explanations concerning preferred embodiments of the memory cardconnector according to this invention have been given. However, thisinvention, by no means, is limited to these examples only. For instance,they can be used not only for memory cards but also for various ICcards. In addition, experts in the art can make various modificationsand changes in the connector, such as, for example, one end of thespring may be attached to the cam bar 16 rather than to the operatingrod 15.

The memory card connector with ejection mechanism according to thisinvention has an ejection mechanism including a sliding operating rodmounted on a frame, a cam bar used for the ejection of the cardpivotally mounted on the frame which is connected to the operating rodand a spring connected between the frame and the operating rod whichforces the operating rod forward and to a side surface of the frame. Dueto the fact that the operating rod is guided by the side surface of theframe, the ejection of the card implemented by pushing the operating rodis carried out in a smooth manner. Since the operating rod is guidedsolely by the side surface of the frame there is no need for any otherguiding devices. As a result, the connector can be made as a compactsmall-dimension unit.

In addition, the fact the operating rod is at all times pressed againstthe side surface of the frame makes it possible to eliminate a rattlingsound and to prevent foreign objects, which can impair the operation ofthe connector, from getting between the frame and the operating rod.

FIG. 15 represents a plan view of an FPC harness according to thisinvention. As shown , the FPC harness 101 has an assembly of memory cardconnectors 120, a first connector 130, a second connector 140, a portconnection device 150 and a flexible printed circuit (FPC) 102 with theconductive paths thereon connecting all the components.

FIGS. 17 and 18 represent a side view and a cross section of theassembly of the memory card connectors. As can be seen from FIGS. 17 and18, the assembly of connectors 120 includes connectors 121a and 121bplaced on top of each other. This stacked arrangement is described inJapanese UM Publication No. 92-92948, This two-tier structure issuitable for memory cards of Types I, II and III according to theclassification set forth in the Standards set by PCMCIA.

FIG. 16 represents a plan view of the FPC 102 used in the assembly ofthe connectors 120, 130 and 140. The FPC 102 has conductive pads 111 and112 intended for soldering of the connectors 121a and 121b of theassembly of connectors 120 and connector 130 thereto, and conductivepads 113 having openings for the mounting of the connector 140 thereto.The conductive pads 111 intended for the contacts of upper and lowerconnectors 121a and 121b of the assembly of connectors 120 are dividedin two groups 111a and 111b located on two different sections 102a and102b of the FPC 102 as illustrated n FIG. 16 conductive pads 112 arelocated on section 102c of FPC 102. The port connection device 150 isprovided for the connection to a matching connector (not shown in thedrawing) and it has conductive strips 151 arrayed at a certain pitch onsection 102d of FPC 102. For reinforcement of the portion of the FPCcorresponding to the connector and for the filling of the empty spacepurposes, plastic boards 105 are attached to the FPC 102 at theappropriate locations. In order to assure a smooth bending of the FPC102, a tape 106 is placed on the FPC 102. Locations of the plasticboards 105 and the tape 106 in FIGS. 15 and 16 are shown with brokenlines. In the appropriate locations, of the FPC 102, mounting holes 130,131, 132 and 133 are provided for the attachment to the main board.

Below, the process of the assembly of the connector assembly will beexplained. The first stage of the process comprises the soldering of theconnectors 121a and 121b to the FPC, and of the first connector 130 andthe second connector 140. The most difficult task is to insert themultiple contact pins (not shown in the drawing) of the second connector140 through openings in the pads 113. The contact pins are inserted fromthe backside of the FPC and soldered on the front side. The connectors121a and 121b, the first and the second connectors are soldered on thefront side.

The second stage comprises bending the FPC. In FIGS. 15 and 16, theposition of the bend is marked by the line A--A. After the bendingoperation, the mounting holes 130, 121, and 133 are aligned. Themounting holes 132 shown in FIG. 16 are used for the assembly of theconnectors and for the attachment of the FPC.

The third stage comprises the assembly of the connector unit 120.connectors 121a and 121b are assembled during the second stage. As shownin FIGS. 17 and 18, during the second stage the connectors 121a and 121bare placed so that the FPC 102 is sandwiched between them. In such aposition, the connectors and the FPC are secured by means of screws andfasteners to the frame 11 of a memory card connector 10. The FPC 102 isretained between the connectors 121a and 121b together with the plasticboards 152, and the contacts 122a, 122a' 122b and 122b' are soldered tothe pads 111. As can be seem from FIG. 15, upon completion of theassembly, the connector device 150, makes it possible to implement anelectrical connection to external equipment. As can be seen from andFIGS. 15, 17 and 18, sections 102a and 102b of FPC 102 which are locatedclose to each other retain their individual flexibility. For example,the joining direction of a connector matching with the second connectormay vary within certain limits.

Above, explanations concerning a preferred embodiment of the FPC harnessaccording to this invention has been given. However, this invention, isnot limited to these examples only but includes also various changes andmodifications which can be made by experts in the art.

The FPC harness according to this invention eliminates the necessity ofsoldering operations on both sides of circuit boards when they areequipped for connection to external equipment. The soldering operationsare performed on one side of the FPC only, thus making the manufacturingprocess much easier. In addition, due to the fact that the solderingoperations accomplish the connection of the input/output devices for theelectrical and external devices by means of the wiring contained on theFPC, the time required for the assembly can be greatly reduced.

Since all necessary wiring from the connector unit to the connectors forexternal equipment is provided on a multi-layered individually flexibleFPC of the FPC harness according to this invention, a more efficient useof space is possible, due to the fact that flexibility of individualsections of the FPC makes it possible to change, within certain limits,the position of the connection with a connector or the direction of theconnection.

I claim:
 1. A memory card connector comprising a frame in which a memorycard is to be received, an ejection mechanism mounted on said frame forejecting the memory card therefrom, characterized in that said ejectionmechanism includes an operating rod movably mounted along a side surfaceof said frame on said frame and operatively connected to a cam barpivotally mounted on said frame for engagement with the memory cardthereby ejecting the memory card from said frame upon linear movement ofsaid operating rod, and a spring wherein a first end of the spring isattached to said operating rod and a second end of said spring isattached to said frame, such that said operating rod is continuouslybiased against a surface of said frame for support.
 2. A memory cardconnector as claimed in claim 1, wherein said operating rod includes anoverhang spaced from the side surface of the frame, one end of saidspring is connected to said overhang.
 3. A memory card connector asclaimed in claim 2, wherein said frame includes a mounting member towhich another end of said spring is connected.
 4. A memory cardconnector as claimed in claim 3, wherein the other end of the spring isshorter than the one end thereof.
 5. An assembly of memory cardconnectors each of which comprises a frame in which a memory card is tobe received, an electrical connector provided for each frame, anejection mechanism mounted on said frame for ejecting the memory cardtherefrom, characterized in that said ejection mechanism includes anoperating rod movably mounted along a side surface of said frame andoperatively connected to a cam bar pivotally mounted on said frame forengagement with the memory card thereby ejecting the memory card uponlinear movement of said operating rod, and a spring wherein a first endof the spring is attached to said operating rod and a second end of saidspring is attached to said frame, such that said operating rod iscontinuously biased against a surface of said frame for support and formaintaining the operating rod in a non-ejecting position and againstsaid frame whereby the frames and connectors are stacked together withthe connectors opposite one another and the operating rods extendingalong opposite side surfaces of the stacked frames.
 6. An assembly ofmemory card connectors as claimed in claim 5, wherein electricalcontacts in the stacked connectors are electrically connected toconductive pads of folded over sections of a flexible printed circuit.7. An assembly of memory card connectors as claimed in claim 6, whereinthe flexible printed circuit includes further sections having conductivepads and for electrical connection to other components.
 8. A memory cardconnector comprising:a frame in which a memory card is to be received; acam bar pivotally mounted on said frame for engagement with the memorycard; an operating rod slidably mounted along a side surface of saidframe and operatively connected to said cam bar to pivotally move saidcam bar to eject the memory card from said frame; and a spring wherein afirst end of the spring is attached to said operating rod and a secondend of said spring is attached to said frame, such that said operatingrod is continuously biased against a surface of said frame for supportand for maintaining said operating rod in a nonejecting position andagainst said frame.
 9. A memory card connector as claimed in claim 8,wherein said operating rod includes an inner end spaced from said frame,one end of said spring is connected to said inner end.
 10. A memory cardconnector as claimed in claim 9, wherein said frame includes a mountingmember to which another end of said spring is connected.
 11. A memorycard connector as claimed in claim 10, wherein the other end of saidspring is shorter than said one end thereof.
 12. A memory card connectorcomprising:a frame in which a memory card is to be received; a cam barpivotally mounted on said frame and having a member for engagement withthe memory card; an operating rod slidably mounted along one side ofsaid frame and having an inner end connected to said cam bar topivotally move said cam bar upon slidable movement of said operating rodthereby causing said member in engagement with the memory card to ejectthe memory card from said frame; and a spring member connected to theinner end of the operating rod and said frame to maintain said operatingrod at a nonejecting position and against the one side of the framewherein a first end of the spring is attached to said operating rod anda second end of said spring is attached to said frame, such that saidoperating rod is continuously biased against a surface of said frame forsupport.
 13. A memory card connector as claimed in claim 12, wherein theinner end is spaced from the one side of the frame.
 14. A memory cardconnector as claimed in claim 13, wherein an end of said spring memberconnected to said frame is shorter than another end of said springmember connected to said inner end.